Hellenic Institute, History Department of Royal Holloway, University of London

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I am pleased to invite you to the following events organized by the Hellenic Institute, History Department of Royal Holloway, University of London in the present academic year:
Sixth Annual Memorial for Julian Chrysostomides:
A Memorial Service for our former teacher and Director of the Institute Julian Chrysostomides (1928-2008) will be held at the Holy Monastery of Panagia Trooditissa in Cyprus on 19 October 2014 at 8.30am. The event is organised under the auspices of The Friends of the Hellenic Institute. For further information please contact Eleni Rossidou-Koutsou (tel. +357 25432068, +357 99568263) and Charalambos Dendrinos.

Fourteenth Annual Hellenic Lecture:
“From Greeks Abroad to the Greek Diaspora: Hellenism in a changing world” by Dr George Prevelakis, Professor of Geography (Sorbonne – Paris 1) and Permanent Representative of Greece to OECD. During the last three centuries the world has been dominated by the nation-state ethos and its territorial configuration. Diasporas lost importance and suffered severe persecutions. However, new trends, such as globalisation, multi-polar organisation, global problems, network economy and information society, have diminished state territoriality; as a result, Diasporas regain significance. Professor Prevelakis’ lecture will explore concepts and aspects of Greek Diasporas in the wider geopolitical, socio-economic, cultural and ideological context in an attempt to respond to important questions concerning Hellenism and its place in Europe and the world today. The Lecture will be held in the Windsor Auditorium, Royal Holloway College Campus, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX on 17 March 2015 at 6.15pm, to be followed by a reception at 7.15pm. All welcome. For further information please contact Marta Baker and George Vassiadis.

2015 ICS Byzantine Colloquium “Arcadia: Real and Ideal”:
This two-day Colloquium will explore the elements which contributed to the creation, preservation and promotion of the Arcadian Ideal from Antiquity, through the Middle Ages in East and West, and the Renaissance to the modern world. It will discuss themes reflecting the Arcadian ideal and legacy in dialogue with the geographical, real Arcadia. Co-organised with the Institute of Classical Studies (ICS), University of London, and the International Society for Arcadia (ISA) the Colloquium will take place in Senate House, Room G22/26, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU on 8-9 June 2015. Programme and Speakers will be announced in due course. All welcome. For further information please contact George Vassiadis.and Nil Pektas.

historiography and intercultural exchanges in Late Antiquity (300-800 AD), on 16-18 September 2015.

The workshop aims at engaging affirmed scholars as well as young researchers in an interdisciplinary discussion over cross-cultural contacts in Late Antiquity and their impact on the historiographical production in different languages, Latin, Greek, Armenian, Syriac, Persian, Coptic, Georgian, Arabic.

The door of the sanctuary: a place of transition, VU University Amsterdam, 27th-29th May 2015

In sanctuaries, the boundaries between the profane and the sacred are marked by doors on different levels, either physical or symbolic: gateways in a precinct, the outer doors of a temple or church, the inner doors of a cella or holy of holies. Pagans and Christians have recorded their perceptions of these liminal spaces in literature, giving us a glimpse of their emotions and ideas. What did someone entering a pagan or Christian sanctuary see, hear, smell, feel? Who was excluded at the door, who was admitted? What symbolic meaning did a door have? What continuities and changes can be identified in Late Antiquity?

The conference aims to elucidate the transition from the worldly to the divine by focusing on the door of the sanctuary during Late Antiquity 99 a key period of transition in which, with the spread of Christianity, cultural paradigms were redefined. With pagans and Christians living side by side there were many religious debates. During this period, description of churches developed into a specific genre. An early example in the Greek East is Eusebius’ description (in his Ecclesiastical)History X.4.37ss.) of the church of Tyre built by the bishop Paulinus (ca. 316-317). The door plays a decisive role in this description. A similar example in the Latin West is the description of the doors of the basilica of Felix by Paulinus of Nola, in Letter 32 and Carmina27 and 28.

The theme of the conference, the experience of the sanctuary door as a place of transition, will be addressed by an interdisciplinary and dynamic approach. This will embrace literary and material sources from the 3rd to the 8th centuries CE, from different regions of the Mediterranean world and from different linguistic, religious and cultural contexts. It will deal with sensory perceptions (light, music, smell, touch) and intellectual perceptions (symbolic meanings). A further dimension to this theme may be added by comparative studies from other religions, i.e. papers on the door of the sanctuary in Judaism and Islam.

It is intended that participants of the conference (some 10915 persons) will come from different disciplines: specialists in Greek and Latin, archaeology, art history and history of religion. Each participant should aim to deliver a transdisciplinary paper on the door of the sanctuary in pagan or Christian Late Antiquity, in the Greek East or in the Latin West. He/she should depart from his/her own field of expertise, relate material, sociological, ritual and symbolic aspects to each other and explore different kinds of experiences as fully as possible. During the conference,participants will work together as an interdisciplinary team. Each participant will present his/her paper in plenary sessions and act as a referee to the paper of another participant from another discipline. The results of the conference 99 an introduction and a selection of representative papers 99 will be published in a thematic volume.

Although we shall be able to reimburse some of the participants’ costs, at present we are unable to say to what extent. We would therefore be grateful if you could also apply for financial support from your own institution.

Members from faculties, independent researchers and graduate students (PhD) are invited to submit an abstract of no more than 500 words together with a brief biography and a list of publications to e.m.van.opstall@vu.nl, with as an e9mail title ‘The Door of the Sanctuary’.
Closing date: October 15th 2014. Notification of acceptance will be sent by November 15th, 2014.

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3. SUMMER SCHOOL OPPORTUNITY

Medieval Greek Summer Session at the Gennadius Library, Summer 2015, The American School of Classical Studies at Athens

Deadline: January 15

The Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens announces the 2015 summer session focused on the teaching of Medieval Greek.

Founded in 1881, the American School is the most significant resource in Greece for American scholars in the fields of ancient and post-classical studies. One of the two major research libraries of the School, the Gennadius Library, which houses over 120,000 volumes and archives, is devoted to post-classical Hellenic civilization, and will offer a month-long Summer Session for Medieval Greek at the Intermediate Level from June 30 to July 29, 2015. The objective is to familiarize students who have a sound foundation in Classical Greek with Medieval Greek language and philology by exposing them to primary sources, different kinds of literary genres, paleography and epigraphy as well as bibliographic and electronic tools, drawing on the resources of the Gennadius Library. The two Professors leading the session are Professor Alexander Alexakis, University of Ioannina and Professor Eustratios Papaioannou, Brown University.

Structure
The month-long program will include daily analysis and translation of Byzantine texts; paleography; introduction to the bibliography of Byzantine philology and electronic resources; introduction to the collections of the Gennadius Library; visits to area museums and libraries including the Byzantine, the Benaki, and the Epigraphical Museum and the National Library; visits to sites, museums, and monuments outside Athens including Corinth, Mistra, Thessaloniki, and Hosios Loukas; and individual tutorials and assignments for each student determined by his/her specific needs and field of study. The language of instruction is English. Plan to arrive on June 29 and depart on July 30.

Eligibility
The program is offered at the intermediate level, and will be geared to twelve qualified students enrolled in a graduate program in any field of late antique, post-antique, Byzantine or medieval studies at any university worldwide. A minimum of two years of college level Classical Greek (or the equivalent) is required. If there are available slots, college professors in any university worldwide, who have no access to the instruction of Medieval Greek in their home institutions, may also be considered. A diagnostic test (available electronically) may be administered to finalists before the final selection of students is made.

Academic Credit
The American School is not a degree-granting institution. No grades are given for its programs, nor are transcripts provided. Upon request, an optional final exam at the end of the program may be provided and the directors will write a letter to the participant’s home institution, recommending that credit be granted, provided that the student has satisfactorily participated in the program and passed the final exam.

Costs and Scholarships – Pending Funding
In previous years, a generous grant from the A.G. Leventis Foundation has made possible up to 12 full scholarships for the Medieval Greek Summer Session. These Leventis Foundation scholarships, which are awarded by the ASCSA on the basis of academic merit, typically cover the costs of tuition and fees, lodging for the entire period, travel with the program within Greece, and museum and site fees. International airfare to and from Greece, meals, and incidental expenses are the participant’s responsibility.